| Success rate: | ~81 |
| Average cost of mail order bride: | $4,600 |
| Average age of foreign brides for marriage: | 22 |
| Best site to find an Indonesian mail order wife: | SakuraDate |
| Average divorce rate: | ~19 |
Best Sites to Find Indonesian Brides
Our in-house online dating guru, Andrew Hough, suggests starting your search on one of these sites:
| Rank | Site | Free Trial Link |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | SakuraDate | |
| #2 | EasternHoneys | |
| #3 | OrchidRomance | |
| #4 | TheLuckyDate | |
| #5 | PhiliTalks |
SakuraDate has the most impressively detailed dating profiles I’ve seen, and there’s no shortage of photos and videos. Besides, its flexible search tools make sorting through Indonesian ladies’ accounts easy. With bonus credits at signup, you can test premium features at no cost.
How to Find an Indonesian Bride: Best Way to Meet Indonesian Brides
Every other Indonesian (49%) knows at least one couple who met online1. It’s not really surprising, considering online dating has been on the upward trend in Indonesia since 2018. As of now, online dating sites and apps have over 4.4 million users2, and their numbers are expected to grow.
Even if some Indonesians avoid online dating3, they mostly do so because they feel like apps and sites are not suited to Indonesian culture (45%), are too superficial (34%), or are unromantic (24%). At the same time, it is not just the younger generations who use online dating. Millennials, Gen X, and even Baby Boomers aren’t afraid of meeting new people and searching for romantic partners online. Surprisingly, mature daters are less likely to be embarrassed4 by admitting they found their match online.
Considering the complexities of the Indonesian online dating scene, I asked Andrew Hough to weigh in and share his insights.
The Indonesian online dating market virtually exploded over the last five years, but choosing the right platform is key to achieving your relationship goals. If you’re looking for a wife, niche sites are your best bet. Here are a couple of examples of what makes them great:
- SakuraDate profiles are extensive enough to get to know beautiful Indonesian women before making contact. Besides, the search and chat tools are flexible enough to suit any taste.
- EasternHoneys is a hybrid of a dating site and a social media platform. Its newsfeed is full of gorgeous shots that immediately identify the most active members who are excited to find partners.
- OrchidRomance is perfect for mature relationships between people who know what they want. In addition to standard chat and email, you also get virtual and real gift services that can make long-distance relationships more tangible.
Moreover, all three platforms offer free registration and signup bonuses, meaning you can set up a profile and start chatting immediately with zero risk to your wallet. I encourage you to explore and experiment with different sites and features before choosing the dating site best suited to your needs.
Other Popular Ways to Find an Indonesian Bride
There is more than one way to meet Indonesian beauties, so let’s go over a few alternative options if mail order bride sites aren’t to your taste.
Mainstream Dating Apps
Most Indonesian women prefer popular apps like Tantan, Tinder, or Bumble, but neither of these mainstream platforms5 is very suited to long-distance relationships despite their advantages.
Pros & cons of dating apps:
- Popular apps are free and available on the web, Android, and iOS
- The dating pool is much deeper than on niche dating sites
- The feature set is typically more advanced than on niche platforms
- Many users are looking for friends or casual hookups instead of relationships
- Indonesian apps focus on matching locals with their peers
- Mainstream apps aren’t suited to international dating
Social Media
With over 190 million active users, Indonesia is the third largest user6 of social media in Asia, after China and India. Although social media platforms are a likely place to meet a single Indonesian girl, this dating approach has certain limitations, too.
Pros & cons of social media and networking sites:
- Popular social media apps are free and available across all devices
- There are more Indonesian women on social media than on dating sites
- You can combine dating Indonesian ladies with scrolling the feed
- Privacy-conscious ladies keep their profiles closed to strangers
- Indonesian women’s marital status and relationship goals aren’t obvious
- Finding a perfect Indonesian woman can be extremely time-consuming
Traveling to Indonesia
If you love traveling, enjoy exotic vacations, and have enough days off to take an extended trip, visiting Indonesia can lead you to the Indonesian woman of your dreams. But this approach has as many drawbacks as benefits.
Pros & cons of trips or immigration to Indonesia:
- There’s no risk of falling prey to photo and video filters
- You get instant immersion into Indonesian culture and traditions
- IRL relationships can develop faster than long-distance ones
- Pricey round-trip flights increase the Indonesian bride cost
- Short-term stays are unlikely to produce a lasting relationship
- Indonesian women don’t consider tourists long-term relationship material
How to Get an Indonesian Bride
Dating Indonesian women online isn’t as challenging as you might think, especially if you choose a niche platform specializing in long-term relationships and international marriages.
- Set up a dating profile and specify your partner preferences
“Unlike some dating sites, SakuraDate provides ample room for self-description and a portrait of your ideal partner. I suggest you make the most of this chance. Think hard about what’s really important to you in a relationship, and specify these features in the preferences section.”
- Search the dating pool and explore the profiles to find potential matches
“Although on SakuraDate, you’ll get 10+ flexible search filters, I suggest you start with a couple of non-negotiable parameters, like country, age, and marital status. If you still get too many results to comfortably explore, you can add a couple of extra filters to narrow the search further. There’s no need to limit your options from the get-go.”
- Create a list of favorites and give out likes to draw attention
“Even after testing dozens of dating sites, I still get overwhelmed on new platforms and can lose track of the girls I really like in the rush to see as many gorgeous Indonesian mail order brides as possible. That’s why I’m generous with likes and stars from the first moments on SakuraDate. A list of favorites is a good place to choose who to contact first when you’re ready to start chatting.”
- Reach out and start chatting with Indonesian women you like
“New guys always draw attention of single Indonesian women, so expect a rush of messages in your first days. You don’t have to read or respond to all of them unless you see real potential. SakuraDate’s chat and letter interfaces are especially useful for that, as you can skim the previews of all incoming messages and ignore canned texts without wasting time. And if a message catches your eye, you can check out the profile that comes with it before responding.”
- Develop a strong relationship until you’re ready to meet in person
“Early days of any relationship are always a rush of excitement and romance, but you’ll need to settle into a routine to keep it going. It can be half an hour of live chat every other day or a video message once a week. You’ll have to develop this routine together with your potential Indonesian wife to ensure you’re on the same page when you meet IRL.”
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Indonesian Bride Price
! Disclaimer: You cannot put a price on an Indonesian bride and expect her to arrive at your doorstep like an Amazon Prime delivery. The rates we’ll discuss cover dating and wedding expenses, nothing more.
In my estimation, the average cost of dating and marrying an Indonesian woman starts at $4,700. This minimum threshold only accounts for four major spending categories:
💻 Dating site membership — from $100/month. The first month or two are typically the most cost-intensive, so you may expect to spend over $200 until you settle into the rhythm of international online dating. With the average duration of online relationships at six months, your dating budget should stay between $600 and $1,200.
Let’s go over the pricing on the most popular Indonesian dating sites, all of which use credits instead of monthly subscription, so comparing the rates tends to get complicated:
- SakuraDate rates start at $0.2 per credit (1,000 credits for $200), and ten minutes of live chat are worth 20 credits or $4.
- EasternHoneys and OrchidRomance offer the most affordable package of 750 credits for $149.99. With a rate of 2 credits per minute, ten minutes of live chat would cost you $4.
- TheLuckyDate credits come in packages from 4,500 ($19) to 80,000 ($179), meaning ten minutes of live chat would cost around $4.5.
It’s a good thing all of these platforms offer free registration and welcome bonuses, no credit card info needed, so you can sign up and test them for free to decide which one is the right for you.
✈️ Trip to Indonesia — from $1,600/week. Although staying in Indonesia for a week will only cost around $4007, the round-trip flight across the world is worth $1,2008. Longer stays are more cost-efficient, but you’ll still need to visit your Indonesian bride at least once and cover the cost of her relocation once things get serious.
📋 Visa filing fees — about $2,300. Only around half of the sum will go towards securing your bride’s K-1 visa, including filing fees for Form I-129F and Form DS-160. You’ll need to cover the rest when procuring the adjustment of status paperwork for your Indonesian wife. Besides, your expenses may increase if you require the services of an immigration attorney.
💒 Wedding expenses — around $100 for a marriage license. Hosting a wedding ceremony and reception costs between $15,000 and $45,0009 depending on the venue, number of guests, etc. You can spare yourself the expense of getting married in a city hall for a fraction of the sum.
As I’ve mentioned, these rough estimates deal with the biggest spending categories, ignoring the rest, like birthday presents, flower delivery, engagement rings, etc. Considering you’d likely incur such spending in any relationship, I don’t think it’s fair to attribute them specifically to relationships with Indonesian women.
How to Save Money
In the current economy, every little thing counts, so here are some ideas to minimize your dating and wedding expenses:
Plan your trip between January and April. Summer months and winter holidays are the peak tourist season in Indonesia, meaning your flight and accommodation expenses will skyrocket. Keeping to the winter and spring months will ensure your budget remains in check.
Avoid a destination wedding in Jakarta. Weddings are part of Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage. A lengthy guest list and heavy attendance are expected, so even if the charges are lower than in the US, the reception and ceremony can put a dent in your budget.
Skip ethnic wedding traditions. In a Chinese wedding, a groom is expected to send a basket full of gifts (uang susu) to the bride’s home. Although the gifts don’t have to be outrageously expensive, you can skip this step if you go with a simple modern ceremony.
You can also keep an eye out for special offers and deals on dating sites to further lower your dating expenses.
Success Stories
When I met Nani on , she was nothing like other Indonesian girls. She was older, in her early thirties, and she didn’t try too hard to seem like a perfect woman. Her honesty and her calm drew me in, and we spent nearly an hour chatting that first day. It quickly became a pattern, and soon, I couldn’t imagine a single day without at least a short message from her. I wanted our first date to be a surprise, so I bought tickets and met her outside her work one day. She was so happy to see me, and I knew at that moment that she was the right person to spend the rest of my life with. We’re still working on getting her a visa, but I hope she’ll join me soon.
After a couple of awkward messages, Ratu and I bonded over our love of hiking and jogging. We’d swap our stats, share pictures from our routes, and jokingly discuss running a marathon. It wasn’t what I expected when I , but our chats were so natural and down-to-earth that I didn’t even notice falling for her. I admit that Ratu was braver than me, and it was her urging that got me to visit Jakarta. I fell in love with the bustling city as quickly as I fell in love with her. The rest is history. We’ve been married for coming up on two years, and they’ve been the best years of my life. We click in most things, and even when we don’t, we can always come to a compromise without all the drama I’d experienced in previous relationships.
Cons of Finding a Bride from Indonesia
- Your wife will need to take care of her parents and grandparents
- Most Indonesian brides are very young, so the age gap can be substantial
- Muslim and Christian religious rituals and mores might clash
Indonesian society is collectivistic and patriarchal, which can be a curse and a blessing at once. On the downside, your Indonesian wife may expect you to help her take care of her extended family. On the bright side, she will likely defer to your judgment, which you can use to start a separate family unit she will guard as carefully as her Indonesian relatives. Still, I recommend talking things out before you commit to a proposal, especially if you’re both religious. You’ll need to find a compromise to incorporate Muslim traditions into your lifestyle, especially if you plan to have children.
- business.yougov.com ↩︎
- statista.com (Online Dating in Indonesia) ↩︎
- statista.com (Using Mobile Dating Apps in Indonesia) ↩︎
- business.yougov.com ↩︎
- statista.com ↩︎
- statista.com ↩︎
- budgetyourtrip.com ↩︎
- skyscanner.com.ua ↩︎
- holidu.co.uk ↩︎
